Man hurt in river raft trip

A Sacramento, Calif., man on a Rogue River rafting trip fell at a camp at Tate Creek in the Agness area Saturday evening and had to be carried out of the forest by guides and other rescue workers.

A Sacramento, Calif., man on a Rogue River rafting trip fell at a camp at Tate Creek in the Agness area Saturday evening and had to be carried out of the forest by guides and other rescue workers.

At about 6:45 p.m. Saturday, the Curry County Sheriff's Department got a call from Josephine County officials who had a brief satellite phone call from people on the river reporting an injured rafter. The satellite call dropped, but officials later determined that Thomas Frye, 59, of Sacramento, had fallen about 20 feet and landed on his head, causing paralysis, the Curry County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.

Frye was on a river-rafting trip with a private group whose members contacted a passing Echo River Trips group after the accident. The Echo River guides stabilized Frye on a table top and started down the Rogue River to where a Curry County sheriff's boat with medical professionals on board was prepared to meet them.

A Mercy Flights helicopter was called, but impending darkness and difficult terrain prevented the helicopter from reaching the patient, the Sheriff's Department reported. The boats continued to Foster Bar, where Agness Rescue, Cal-Ore Ambulance and additional Curry County deputies were waiting. They arrived at about 9:40 p.m. and Frye was taken to Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City, Calif., with head, neck and back injuries, the Sheriff's Department reported.

Note: This story included an incorrect reference to Echo River, and it has been removed from this version.